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Certain Running Play

Mr. Monaca

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Gold Member
Feb 29, 2016
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First of all - I love this team and feel great about the 3-0 start. So many positives to speak about, especially on defense.

I do not want to focus on negative aspects but there are a few to mention regarding the offense. There is one play in particular that I want to point out for criticism. They have run this exact play for both years of Whipple's tenure whenever they're trying to finish a game with possession of the ball.

They line up in a tight formation, usually with a fullback alongside the running back and no wides. It's a clear run look and sure enough they go in the direction of the fullback. Pickett takes what seems like an extended amount of time to make the handoff as he moves from the snap toward one of the tackles. He extends his arm, showing everyone the ball and by the time the RB has the ball, a linebacker or defensive end has had a clear angle from the back side of the play and runs the play down from behind for a 3 yard loss. I've seen this play in every game we've been trying to close out and it gets blown up every time. Why do they insist on making this call?
 
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Is this the play you're talking about? It's run out of a 2TE set with Van Lynn as a TE next to Warren. They use this a lot, and some of their better runs came out of this formation. In the link below(@19:20), it's shown 2 times in a row in the 4th quarter. The first time, Van Lynn pancakes his guy and Warren stays on his block and they get a nice gain. In the second one, Warren doesn't stay on his block and the defender knifes in and we lose yards. They ran it a few plays before this in the same series for a big gain.

 
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Is this the play you're talking about? It's run out of a 2TE set with Van Lynn as a TE next to Warren. They use this a lot, and some of their better runs came out of this formation. In the link below(@19:20), it's shown 2 times in a row in the 4th quarter. The first time, Van Lynn pancakes his guy and Warren stays on his block and they get a nice gain. In the second one, Warren doesn't stay on his block and the defender knifes in and we lose yards. They ran it a few plays before this in the same series for a big gain.

It can be a good play if you don't know it is coming.

It can become a better play if they occasionally add a wrinkle to it.

Maybe peel a block back to take the chase down defender or run some counter action back to that side with either a run or throw.

As things stand now, that play is a loser if you are attempting to run it repeatedly because you are being too conservative and your opponent knows what is coming.

In the stated situation, that play sucks.
 
Is this the play you're talking about? It's run out of a 2TE set with Van Lynn as a TE next to Warren. They use this a lot, and some of their better runs came out of this formation. In the link below(@19:20), it's shown 2 times in a row in the 4th quarter. The first time, Van Lynn pancakes his guy and Warren stays on his block and they get a nice gain. In the second one, Warren doesn't stay on his block and the defender knifes in and we lose yards. They ran it a few plays before this in the same series for a big gain.

That's it for the most part. It's when they line up with no wideouts though, when it seems most predictable. And when it's telegraphed by formation, it looks like it's easily defended. This seems to be the case for an inordinate number of play calls near the end of a game while trying to preserve possession. Often ends up having 2nd and long followed by 3rd and long situations.
 
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It can be a good play if you don't know it is coming.

It can become a better play if they occasionally add a wrinkle to it.

Maybe peel a block back to take the chase down defender or run some counter action back to that side with either a run or throw.

As things stand now, that play is a loser if you are attempting to run it repeatedly because you are being too conservative and your opponent knows what is coming.

In the stated situation, that play sucks.
Yes and that is my frustration. We seem to make that call a lot when the game is winding down and it seems that we end up in 2nd & long and 3rd & long too often. It just looks so very easy to read and defeat.
 
Yes and that is my frustration. We seem to make that call a lot when the game is winding down and it seems that we end up in 2nd & long and 3rd & long too often. It just looks so very easy to read and defeat.
Kenny could keep them honest with a reverse pivot keeper.

Of course that could also get Kenny killed.

Better save it for the national championship game.
 
You can certainly run a bootleg and have Pickett run, or hit a TE downfield... if we had a TE.
 
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